Popular Wichita store to close after almost seven decades in business

Jody Lonergan can’t decide if she’s happy or sad.

That’s because she’s closing Maxine’s, a stationery shop that’s been in Wichita for almost seven decades.

“I’m absolutely amazed at the love . . . that people are showing me,” said Lonergan, who quickly got emotional.

Customers and former employees are “coming in here hugging me, and I’m ready to cry all the time.”

The store had been along East Central at three different sites since Max and Maxine Glickman started the business in 1960.

In 2016, Lonergan moved it to Lincoln Heights Village, at Douglas and Oliver.

Her connection with Maxine’s started before she bought the store.

Lonergan had painted a pair of toasting glasses for her best friend’s wedding. Her friend’s mother suggested she take them to Maxine’s, which through the decades has helped brides with invitations and other wedding items, to see if the owners might carry them in the store.

“They said, ‘Yes,’ just like that,” Lonergan said.

When her youngest child went to school, Lonergan started working at the store and eventually bought it in 1985.

She said she hates to say it, but she’s closing because of the economy and a change in how couples send invitations these days.

“The weddings are smaller, and the younger people sometimes don’t think they need to have a paper invitation,” Lonergan said. “It’s really sad.”

She plans to continue doing invitations from her home for those who want them, which is important to a lot of brides whose mother’s and grandmothers’ wedding invitations came from the shop.

“I’m not going to sever my ties with my companies that I order from.”

Everything in the store is half price except for Lonergan’s late sister Jeanne Gordon’s cards.

Gordon was paralyzed following an accident and learned to paint with her mouth.

“I’m still printing her cards,” Lonergan said.

She plans to sell the store’s fixtures, too, except the original black leather sofa that the Glickmans owned and she’s recovered three times.

Lonergan said gentle prodding from her children was part of her decision to close as well.

“My kids have been bugging me for years to go play.”

Though she always thought she would one day sell the business, Lonergan said there’s probably not enough time now. The store will close at the end of this month.

Lonergan said she has appreciated the Wichita community through the years and since she announced she’s closing.

“I am so incredibly grateful.”

This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 12:36 PM.